Stringed musical instrument



Jan. 2, 1934. J. H. LARGE 1,941,559

STRINGED MUS ICAL INSTRUMENT Filed Sept. 17, 1951 dige/s' Patented Jan. 2, 1934 o 1,941,559 sTnINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT John H. Large, Caldwell, N.- J., assignor, by mesne assignments, to` Oscar Schmidt International Corporation, Jersey City, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application september 17, 1931 Serial No. 563,249

6 Claims. (Cl. 84-285) This invention relates to aimusical instrument of the Zither type, the instrument beingcapable of vbeing playedl like an ordinary Zither and also being =adapted for use; as an yauto-harp. .To this i end the usual contour of the Zither has been alteredto provide a neck portion of substantial Width-,this portion having Substantially parallel side edges. n Damper bars are mounted to extend from' sidey to sideacross the neck portion so -astofleave the lower `body portion of the instrument unobstructecvi.forl playing in the manner customary `forI zithers. The invention also in` the art from the description which follows and from;,they illustration, of the invention on the drawing, of which,-

.v Figure 1 is a plan view of a musical instruyment embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a fragmentary section on the line a-3 3 of Figure 1.

' Figure 4 is a fragmentary section on the line 4 4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is similar to Figure 4 but shows the parts in a different position of operation.

' Figure 6 is a fragmentary plan view of the instrument shown in Figure 1, illustrating a muting device.

Figure 7 is a section on the line 7 7 of Figure 6.

3o; s The instrument illustrated on the drawing may comprise a resonator body l0 having a neck portion 11 with substantially parallel side edges. The lower portion 12 of the body is wider than the neck portion, the side edges of the lower ;"portion of the body diverging downwardly from the neck portion. As shown, the instrument may be provided with a plurality of groups or sets 13 of strings tuned to produce chords. Thus by striking simultaneously any one of the sets 4613 of strings a cho-rd is sounded. In addition to the chord-producing groups of strings, a set of melody strings 14 is also provided. The chord-producing strings 13 and the melody .Strings 14 may all extend upwardly from the "lower portion 15 of the body. The chord-producing strings and a substantial percentage of the melody strings extend to the upper end portion 16 of the neck, the neck being wide enough s gfor this purpose. The rest of the melody strings terminate adjacent to the side edge 17 of the lower portion of the body.

The strings which extend to the upper end of the neck all have vibrating portions of substantially equal length, the nut 20 at the upper end of the neck being parallel to the bridge 21 of the lower end of the body. The melody strings which terminate adjacent to theside edge 17 pass over a nut 22 which is inclined with respect to the bridge 21 so that the vibrating portions of these strings are of graded lengths.

For convenience in playing the chordproducy ing ysets of strings, a series of suitable hammers 24 may be provided. These hammers arefpreferablymounted near the lower end o-f the neck portion 1.1 so as to leave a large unobstructed portion of the-body' clear for sheet music which may beheld in place on the upper face' of the body under the strings, as by a suitable clip 25.

In order to permit the use of the instrument as an auto-harp, I may provide one or more damper bars 26 which are preferably mounted to extend across the neck 11 from Side to side. By locating these damper bars across the neck, the lower portion of the body is left clear for the sheet music. As shown, the damper bars bridge all of the chord-producing strings and such of the melody strings as extend to the upper end portion of the neck. When the instrument is used as an auto-harp, the shorter strings which pass over the nut 22 are not used. In order to avoid accidental sounding of such strings, a muting device 30 may be employed. As shown in Figures 6 and 7, this device may be in the form of a wedge which is thrust between the bridge 21 and a fixed bar 31 which extends over this bridge. The muting device 30 is preferably provided with a felt pad 32 which is pressed against the shorter strings when the device is in place so that these strings are eiectively muted.

The structure of the damper bars 26 is more particularly illustrated in Figures 2, 4 and 5. As shown, each of these bars comprises an elongated bar of substantial width adapted to extend from one side of the neck to the other. This bar is provided with a pair of pivots 35 which rest on side members 36, the latter being mounted along the side edges of the neck 11. As shown in Figure 2, the pivots 35 may consist of the end portions of a single rod secured to the under face of the bar 26. The bar 26 is thus mounted to rock on a longitudinal axis. On either side of this axis a set of dampers 39 is secured to the under face of the bar 26 so that when the bar is slr les

rocked from its normal horizontal position, one or the other set of dampers 39 is brought into contact with selected strings, as illustrated in Figure 5. Each damper bar 26 is thus capable of two chord combinations. If desired, suitable finger pieces 37 may be mounted on each bar 26 to facilitate the rocking thereof. At the free end of each bar 26 a plunger 38 is pressed upwardly against the lower face of the bar by a suitable spring 40. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the upper end of this plunger is forked as at 4l to straddle the pivot member 35 and to engage the under face of the bar 26 on either side of its rocking axis. When the bar is rocked in either direction from its horizontal position, as shown in Figure 5, the plunger 38 is depressed against the spring 40. The spring thus tends to return the bar to its normal horizontal position and to maintain the bar resiliently in such position.

It is apparent that various changes can be made in the form and details of the instrument Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A stringed musical instrument comprising a resonator body having a neck portion narrower than the lower portion thereof, said neck portion having substantially parallel side edges, a damper bar extending across said neck, a set of strings extending from the lower end of said body, Some of said strings extending to the upper end of said neck and under said bar, others of said strings terminating adjacent to a side of the lower portion of said body.

2. A stringed musical instrument comprising a resonator body having a neck portion with substantially parallel side edges, sets of chord-producing strings, and a set of melody strings, said chord-producing strings and a substantial percentage of said melody strings all having vibrating portions of equal length, the rest of the melody strings being of substantially shorter lengths.

3. A stringed musical instrument comprising a resonator body, a plurality of set of chord-producing strings, a set of melody strings, and a damper bar bridging said chord-producing strings and a substantial percentage of said melody strings, said bar having damping elements movable therewith to mute certain of said sets of chord-producing strings and certain of said melody strings.

4. A stringed musical instrument comprising a resonator body, a plurality of sets of chord-producing strings, a set of melody strings, a damper bar bridging said chord-producing strings and a substantial percentage of said melody strings, and means for muting all the melody strings not bridged by said damper bar.

5. A stringed musical instrument comprising a resonator body, groups of chord-producing strings and individual melody strings extending parallel to each other above said body and of equal length, additional parallel melody strings of progressively shorter length, and a damper bar bridging the strings of equal length only.

6. In a stringed musical instrument, a iiat horizontal damper bar tiltable on a longitudinal axis; a set of dampers secured to the under face of said bar on each side of said axis, and means resiliently maintaining said bar in its normal horizontal position, said means including a vertical spring-pressed plunger normally engaging the lower face of said bar on both sides of the ax1s.

JOHN H. LARGE. 

